


A Thimble of Cream

by youthoughtyouknew



Series: Five Pennies and a Thimble of Cream [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Human, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Fae Morality | Patton Sanders, Fluff, Human Logic | Logan Sanders, Interspecies Romance, M/M, but also a leetle beet of angst, i make up for it with some hurt and comfort don't worry, like super soft cute fluff, patton knows things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23562466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youthoughtyouknew/pseuds/youthoughtyouknew
Summary: Patton discovers a new kind of magic.It doesn't matter what order you read these in; I'd recommend Five Pennies first.
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Logicality
Series: Five Pennies and a Thimble of Cream [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695070
Comments: 14
Kudos: 68





	A Thimble of Cream

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2!! In which we learn more about the fae and How Things Work! (please listen to [Beautiful Soul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tFAZ65z86E) and [You've Got a Friend in Me](watch), they're beautiful and they fit so well)

Stack five pennies and the fae will come.

Patton knows the old saying - all fae do.

It’s a long-standing deal between fae and human (and by long, he means _eons_ ), which the humans have come to call a superstition. Understandable, really. The Deal was formed millennia ago: Stack five coins of the land’s lowest value to Call a fairy, offer tribute in the form of a thimble of cream, and the fae will bestow one boon of good luck in return. A lazy tribute or no tribute at all allows the fae to hex the offender instead. With such a small outcome either way, it’s no wonder the ritual has fallen by the wayside. So few fae are summoned in this manner nowadays that the Deal might as well have never been formed at all.

So when Patton feels magic tugging at him one afternoon, he follows it out of curiosity as well as the inability to ignore the pull. Where he’s going - and _who_ he’s going _to_ \- he can’t wait to find out.

The magic pulls him to a small white house with a blue door. Patton looks around, curious. The scent of plants tells him the backyard fence is overgrown with vines, although the rest of the small yard is freshly mowed. The front step is a flat stone, and the driveway is small chunks of gravel instead of a single slab of concrete. What a nice place!

His attention is drawn to one of the windows - the old-fashioned wood-framed kind, painted white like the rest of the house - and he flutters closer, casting an Unseeming over himself to avoid being spotted. (He should have done it _before_ flying through a human neighbourhood, but Unseemings always feel uncomfortably like someone blowing on him from all angles, and it’s not like any human’s going to identify a fairy in flight anyway. He knows from experience that at top speed, he’s indistinguishable from a large insect.) The window is open a few inches. He folds his wings and drops lightly to the sill.

The source of the Call lies within the human dwelling, so he enters, still looking around. The interior of the house is just like the outside, small, light, and tidy. He’s now standing in the living room, which apparently doubles as the dining room because the furniture includes a table along with two reading chairs on the other side of the room. One of the chairs is occupied by a handsome, studious-looking man engrossed in a book.

The room’s other occupant is a little girl, sitting at the table and watching the windowsill determinedly. Her eyes, though focused on a spot five inches away from Patton, never pick up on him. Magic is very handy that way. Speaking of magic...

Patton enlarges the area of the Unseeming, covering the entire windowsill. Then he knocks over the stack of pennies, ending the Call. The magic covers both the sound and the motion from the act. Now Patton turns to the thimble. Ooh, it’s silver. Nice. He sips the offered cream leisurely, watching the little girl with interest. The fae tend to like children, and Patton in particular has a special place in his heart just for them. They’re just so cute and funny!

Magic tingles in Patton’s mind. Part of the Deal - the emotions and desires of the Caller become as clear as words spoken aloud to him, just for now. He tilts his head, pointed ears twitching as the Caller’s inner workings open up to him.

It’s the girl. Patton smiles at the childish emotions she emanates - anticipation that the fae will come, a hint of impatience, and complete adoration for the man in the chair, for the most part. Good luck, for her, means no broccoli for supper. And getting to sit with Missy Stevens at lunch. And finding a big squiggly worm in the garden. A tiny part of her is even sending out tinges of guilt over the cream she spilt on the counter.

She has a wish, too. Patton focuses on that, curious. A wish come true is the best luck of all. But he immediately knows he can’t grant it. The Deal dictates that his deed can only be _small_ magic, and this wish requires more than that.

Patton mulls it over for a bit. Going over the rules more carefully doesn’t present him with a solution for this dilemma, but it _does_ reveal a nice little loophole or two. Nowhere does the Deal say anything against _two_ small deeds...

He finishes the cream and flutters over to where the girl has fallen asleep. A simple spell ensures that for the next day or so every worm within a few metres of her will be drawn out of hiding. Then he nips off to the kitchen to sort out the spill. It’s a favour more suited to the man than the girl (who’ll likely never know), but that’s alright. There aren’t any rules against helping of one’s own free will, and even if there was, Patton reasons he’d be fine. After all, it’s the man’s cream, and the man’s pennies that summoned him to drink it.

The “mess” turns out to be a few drops spilled on the counter. Patton dispels them with a wave of his hand, then returns to the living/dining room and exits through the still-open window. On his way out, he laces the frame with a spell to prevent any insects from coming in. It just seems like the courteous thing to do.

(It’s not courtesy that motivates Patton to hang around the window for the remainder of the afternoon. He wants to be there when the evidence of his visit is discovered.)

Sure enough, the pure, unadulterated* excitement in the girl’s voice when she cries out an hour or so later fills Patton to his wingtips with happiness. He watches as she pulls the man - Uncle Logan, she calls him - over to the windowsill and points out the scattered pennies and the empty thimble. Logan smiles and ruffles her hair fondly, and Patton can tell that he’s witnessing something special. He resolves, as he flies away, to never forget this magical afternoon.

*

Patton is pleasantly surprised when he feels the Call again, a week or two later. His pleasant surprise increases when the magic leads him once again to the little white house with the blue door, where Logan and his niece are waiting. Just like before, the Caller is the little girl with her big emotions and shifting desires and one steadfast secret wish that Patton cannot grant. He has to settle for guiding her mother away from the tuna casserole she’d planned on making for supper. If only he could do more!

But the small favours must be satisfactory for the girl, because she continues to Call him every couple of weeks, and never has anything but delight evident in her face when she finds the thimble empty. Her smile alone could outshine the fae lights of Patton’s home eyrie.

Patton learns a lot as his visits to the house with the blue door continue. He learns that the Call is a sort of ritual between Logan and the girl, a form of bonding akin to a special handshake or a secret code. It’s the first thing they do when she’s dropped off. He learns that the girl’s name is Natalie, and she thinks the world of her uncle. And from what Patton sees, Logan loves her very deeply in return, in his own taciturn way. It’s adorable. With such a heart-warming story behind the regular Calls, who _wouldn’t_ look forward to returning?

Then one day it changes.

Patton feels the tug of magic late. Natalie’s mother drops her off shortly before noon, so what could have changed? Is someone _else_ trying the old superstition?

He’s half right, as it turns out. The Call once again draws him to the house with the blue door, although this time there is nobody keeping an eye on the window. Puzzled and very, very curious, Patton kicks over the stack of pennies and drinks the cream. He’s waiting for it, but the mind magic still catches him by surprise.

It’s Logan.

As if summoned by the realization, the human enters the room with a mug of coffee in hand and, sitting down at the table, levels his gaze on the windowsill. Patton has to remind himself that the Unseeming is preventing Logan from seeing anything out of the ordinary. He won’t even see the evidence until Patton moves away. So for now, Patton kneels by the thimble and watches him, taking in every detail as he tries to understand this unexpected deviation from routine.

Logan is good-looking, in a teacheresque kind of way, with a fair complexion, dark hair and eyes, and a calm, earnest default expression that would have led Patton to write him off as aloof and standoffish if he hadn’t also seen the warm, infectious smile Logan is also capable of. With his glasses, tie, and well-behaved hair, he appears as proper and down-to-earth as his house.

Beneath the unassuming surface, he is a one-man nation. Logan’s mind is very different from Natalie's. He tempers his emotion with reasoning and has everything sorted in tidy yet baffling lists and charts. His desires are mostly small, practical things ranging from paying off the mortgage to watering the houseplants; there are a plethora of Deal-approved good deeds to be found here. As for emotions, he’s fairly quiet. He’s deep in contemplation right now, with an underlying layer of calculation and resolve that Patton senses is a permanent part of his thought process. Part of him is emitting little ripples of fondness centred around memories of Natalie. But his contentment is tinged with another emotion, one that, when Patton follows to the very back of his mind, is quite unexpected.

Logan is _lonely._

Patton’s ears and wings droop in sympathy. He understands completely. But once again, his hands are tied. There’s nothing he can do to change this that the Deal will allow.

So instead, he locates a sock Logan has looking for for several days and leaves it on his bed. Then he hovers just outside the window and waits for Logan to realize the pennies have fallen. Only when Logan comes to the window does he fly away.

As he does, the fading magical empathy sends something like relief flickering through his mind. Logan has found a reason to feel a little less alone.

*

It’s about a fortnight later that Logan Calls him again. He’s not in the room when Patton arrives, but the sheer _Logan_ -ness of the mentality coming from the kitchen is a dead giveaway. (Even if there’s a noticeable lack of activity going on in there.)

Patton follows it and smiles. Logan is asleep at the kitchen table, head pillowed in his arms. His hair is rumpled and his glasses sit crookedly on his nose. A sheaf of papers is spread out in front of him; Logan must have dozed off while looking through them.

Alighting on the table, Patton examines the pages and winces. They’re all mixed up! Poor Logan.

Patton considers. Logan is still a bit lonely, even asleep, but it seems like an ongoing loneliness that isn’t taking priority right now. His last conscious desire is for something to lighten up the aftermath of a rough day.

A flick of Patton’s fingers sends the pages into the air. He sorts through them quickly, using magic to move them faster than human fingers could. Then, once they’re in the correct order and stacked nicely on the table, he turns to Logan.

Even asleep, Logan manages to look pensive. Patton wants to smooth out the lines creasing his forehead. Shaking off the impulsive thought, he whispers a blessing to ease the human’s mind while he sleeps, then leaves.

*

A routine develops.

Logan Calls a couple of times a week, for various reasons that never include good luck. Patton likes that about him.

Once every week or two, the Caller is Natalie, bright-eyed and believing as always, although Patton does overhear her asking why a _helpful_ fairy keeps making a mess of the coin pile.

“Maybe it's like ringing a doorbell,” Logan offers. “It just keeps making noise until the fae takes it apart.”

Patton grins. If Logan could only know how close he is.

Of course, the Call is much less annoying than a constantly ringing doorbell. (That might just be because Patton _wants_ to be there. Trying to leave with the pennies still stacked would definitely be a hassle.)

There’s no denying the frequent Calls are the highlight of Patton’s life. It’s lonely being a will-o’-the-wisp, a solitary travelling fairy. True, he _could_ settle down in an eyrie, but the outside world calls him. Now that he has someone to visit, the idea of returning to fae civilization holds even less appeal.

Logan entertains similar thoughts. The glimpses of his mind that Patton gets every time they “meet” prove that. He seems to find comfort in connecting with some nameless fae in these small ways. It goes beyond the subconscious need for company; he also does so just because he enjoys it. Even so, Patton looks for ways to make his life easier, going beyond what he finds in Logan’s head. He can’t magic away the lonely moments that steal over the human, but he can ensure they happen in a more homey environment. Which means the spiders, shadows, and dead houseplant leaves (scarce as those things already are) have to go. They’re small favours, just odds and ends really, but the subtle shift in Logan’s overall mood implies that he notices and appreciates what Patton’s presence has brought into his house.

Just how _much_ his work is appreciated Patton doesn’t realize, until he arrives one day to find a single forget-me-not resting against the stack of pennies.

The discovery takes his breath away. In fae culture, offering a gift without expecting anything in return is an initiation of courtship. Logan can’t know that; the flower is simply an attempt to say thank you. Still, the unintentional declaration of love sends fireflies fluttering in Patton’s stomach. He can’t deny that Logan is very handsome, and that he feels warm and fluttery all over whenever he thinks about the human. But it’s one thing to have a secret crush on a human, and another to consider an actual, serious relationship. It would be foolish to let his feelings lead him into crossing the fae court. So Patton ignores the happy leaping his heart is doing, and the blush he knows is spreading sky-blue clouds across his cheeks, and simply thinks _Thank you_ as hard as he can as he drinks the cream. The flower and his feelings he’ll appreciate later, when he won’t be tempted to reveal himself to Logan.

Logan gets the message, apparently, or maybe it’s just how sweet he is, because he doesn’t stop with the flower. One day, he leaves cream that is thicker and sweeter on Patton’s tongue and has his wings fluttering on their own with delight. Patton drinks it slowly, savouring the delicious treat. Then, feeling a bit zippy, he runs his fingers along the rim of the thimble, expending some of the extra energy into imbuing the silver with a hint of sparkle. It’s not a favour at all - just an expression of gratitude.

The next time he answers the Call, it’s the extra special cream again. Logan is really something else.

One day, he leaves the prettiest little button Patton has ever seen sitting on top of the stack. Another gift! Patton hugs the button to his chest, and his elation spills out into the plants nearby. It’s fall, and everything else is starting to turn brown, but the house plants and the clover beneath the window bloom as though it were spring.

A few days later is when Logan Calls especially late. Patton alights on the windowsill to find a third gift - a shard of mirror that catches the last of the setting sun and glows like fire in Patton’s hands. It’s beautiful, truly a treasure for the residence Patton has set up. (He hasn’t much else besides the button and flower, but that doesn’t mean much since fae are sparse creatures by nature.) Such a lovely gift deserves a special deed in return. Patton thinks hard. One of Logan’s recurring frustrations is the hassle of dealing with bed head every morning. That will do.

He waits until the moon is high before returning to the house with the blue door. The window is closed, but since Patton still owes a favour, he has no problem with entering. He follows the soft wavelike motion of a sleeping mind to Logan’s bedroom.

Logan looks different with his glasses off and his eyes closed; asleep his face appears younger, more open. His hair is different too, but while Logan with messy, sticky-outy hair is admittedly very cute, Patton can see how the nest of tangles and knots presents a problem for him.

Patton lands on the edge of the bed and arranges himself carefully. He focuses, and a moment later, he’s human-sized. The change is silent and subtle enough to not move the bed, and fae bodies weigh very little even at human size, but Logan stirs uneasily, brow furrowing. Patton bends close and brushes a finger across his forehead. The furrow smooths itself out and Logan falls deeper into sleep.

Now the favour. Patton runs his fingers gently through Logan’s hair, working through the tangles one by one and spreading an enchantment that’ll keep them from reforming. He could just wave his hand over Logan’s head and be done with it, but this is so much _nicer_. Human hair is thicker than fae hair.

Logan moves unexpectedly and Patton freezes. _He forgot to cast an Unseeming._ But Logan just makes a soft noise low in his throat and rolls a little so he’s closer to the warmth of Patton’s body. Patton breathes again. _I should go_ , he realizes reluctantly. He pulls away and releases the enchantment holding him at human size. Then, feeling bold, he presses a kiss to Logan’s forehead before taking off. Now that his favour is done, he’s no longer a guest.

*

Patton is surprised when he arrives at the house with the blue door to find a scrap of paper waiting by the thimble. Ignoring the cream (the special kind again - Logan hasn’t left the regular since the first time), he picks it up to read it. In neat, penned letters, it reads:

> **Hello**

A message? He knows he’s not allowed to try to talk to humans. What does fae law dictate he do if the _human_ tries to talk to _him?_ Patton mulls it over. The law doesn’t say anything about it, if he recalls correctly, which means he’ll be fine. He folds the note down to a more convenient size and pockets it, then rushes off to find a piece of birchbark and his favourite pen. Then he writes a message back and leaves it in the paper’s place, drinks the cream, and extends the expiry date of the milk in the fridge. Maybe, he reflects as he leaves, there’ll be another message tomorrow.

Before he can make it past the driveway, the Call is tugging him back again. Patton ignores the cream set out - no one said anything about having to accept the tribute, and he’s full - and reads the message Logan has left.

> **My name is Logan.**

Shoot - how do you respond to that? Patton settles for

> I know
> 
> My name is Patton

and hopes it doesn’t come across as creepy. Apparently, it doesn’t, because the next thing Logan writes is a simple yet obviously heartfelt thank you.

Patton smiles. Looks like he’ll be needing more bark.

*

Now that they’re writing back and forth, the Call happens more often. Logan has lots of questions about the fae, and Patton is happy to answer them. For the most part, though, it’s friendly conversations about whatever comes to mind. Having a human penpal, Patton decides, is the best idea ever. The only problem is that Logan’s work schedule means their system is confined to weekends and the time before and after he leaves. At least, that’s the case until one day a few weeks in, when the Call comes from a new direction. Turns out Logan can Call from his office! Now their conversations are daily.

Patton has never felt more alive. He has a friend - two if you count Natalie, who still Calls at least twice a month - and a place where he feels special and at home at the same time. (He’s a bit caught off guard when Logan asks him bluntly if he has other friends. His response takes a bit of careful wording, but he thinks he does a good job of telling Logan it’s alright.)

The mind magic of the Deal starts to feel a bit intrusive as they learn more about each other, so Patton does his best to block it out. He gets good enough at it that only Logan’s strongest emotions (curiosity and fondness, for the most part) register clearly in his mind. A great deal of the time, it’s curiosity about the fae, and about Patton himself.

> **Would you be comfortable describing yourself?**

Logan asks one day.

Patton winces. Logan can’t have known this, but he’s always been a bit self-conscious of his appearance. He’s not _ugly_ , by all accounts, but as far as fae go, he’s no stunner.

He’s a blue, so his hands and feet are cerulean, fading to kind of peach-beige around his elbows and knees; the colour is also present on his back and the edges of his face, particularly around the hairline. He has an okay face, he guesses, even though, like the rest of him, it’s chubby by fae standards. (To a human, he’d probably appear on the slender side of average.)

> There’s not a lot to say

he writes at last.

> I’m not much to look at

> **I’m sure that’s not true**

sweet, loyal Logan responds right away.

> **And even if it is, you have an exquisite personality**
> 
> **It’s what’s inside that counts**

And oh, Patton would be smitten if he wasn’t already head over heels for the man. Any other human would be convinced that as a fairy, he must be gorgeous. Logan is purely concerned with his personality.

So concerned with not invading Logan’s mind is Patton that he doesn’t even realize what’s happening until the day the missive from Logan reads

> **What do you know about love?**

> Wow, that’s a big question

Patton remarks, unaware.

> Care to elaborate?

> **Have you ever been in love?**

> Yes

Patton writes after pausing to wonder if it’s smart to get this close to the truth. If Logan asks for too much more, he’ll _know_.

> **Can you tell me about it? You don’t have to share any details you don’t want to**

Oh, thank goodness. Saved by a human’s profound discretion.

> You’re such a gentleman :)

He hesitates for half a second. How to continue? But once he starts, the words start to spill from him, faster, freer. He wants to describe it _all_ , help Logan understand this beautiful thing he has so unknowingly given to him.

> Being in love is… well, _magical_.
> 
> You think about them all the time, even if you don’t realize it. Everything wonderful reminds you of them. You want everything good for them, and when they’re sad, you know you’d do anything to help them feel better.
> 
> Their presence is a light in your life.
> 
> They feel like home.
> 
> And sometimes you have to let go, and it hurts, but at the same time, you know it’s the best thing for them, and that makes it a little better.
> 
> Love is life.

Patton stops abruptly. He didn’t mean to let his own sadness at not being able to be with Logan slip into his description! It’s too late to change it now. He tries to divert attention away from the mistake with an extra-cheerful conclusion.

> Anyway, that’s my experience
> 
> Is that helpful?

> **Patton… Has anyone you loved hurt you?**

Another pause. Patton can feel his heartbeat in the tips of his fingers.

> No. But sometimes hurting the one you love is just as painful as if they hurt you.

> **How can I help you?**

Logan asks, sweet and concerned, and there’s something else in there as well, but Patton can’t quite name it.

> That’s sweet of you, but I don’t need help
> 
> How’s Natalie?

It’ll be obvious that he’s avoiding the question, but he can’t help it. That extra something in Logan’s mind is tugging at his attention, and he needs a safer topic to talk about while he tries to figure it out. So while Logan tells him all about how Natalie got first place at a science fair and now gets to go to a special camp, Patton cautiously opens his own mind to the emotions and desires he’s been blocking out.

The veil of loneliness has retreated to the very back of Logan’s mind, almost nonexistent now; Logan is more content and relaxed than Patton has ever seen him. His resolve and lists and charts are still there, but… softened, somehow. And all of his inner workings are alight with something so intensely familiar that it takes a moment for Patton to recognize it.

_Oh, Logan._

It’s love - deep, unfailing, and so obviously at home in Logan’s mind. He has no objection to it, has embraced it and nurtured it, and let it become his truth. It’s a wonder it didn’t catch Patton’s attention before. Now all of Logan’s love envelopes him, swirling close around him sweetly, protectively, whispering _you, you, you_ in his ear.

Patton forgets how to breathe. His pulse seems to fill his entire body, so hard is his heart beating. Logan loves him back - has loved him for a while now.

_I have to do something._

The fae have nothing against relationships between humans and themselves, and even less against same-sex relationships. (The human saying “gay as the fae” went out of style shortly before Patton’s time. He wishes it hadn’t; it’s one of the most accurate statements the humans have made regarding fairies.) The only rule is that the human can’t find out their partner is fae. That wouldn’t be a problem, as Logan would already know.

Patton wouldn’t have to worry about an age-gap either. They’re both in their early thirties, and since the average lifespan of the fae depends on the state of the earth, he ages at roughly the same rate as any typical human. (A few hundred years ago, this would not have been the case.) And he doesn't have to be the unseen penpal/boyfriend either, although the spell would have to be renewed every month or so.

Of course, if he’s to go through with this, he’ll need to do a lot of work to set up a foundation. Will-o’-the-wisps are particularly ill-suited for transitioning to the human world, because of their lack of already-prepared resources. And that’ll take a lot of time, not including what needs to be done to keep the fae court from suspecting Logan’s knowledge of their kind.

Patton takes a deep breath. He has his work cut out for him.

*

They’ve been communicating regularly for quite some time now.

Logan doesn’t seem to notice the delay that happens whenever Patton is working and can’t get there right away, or if he does, kindly doesn’t mention it. _I’ve picked the best human_ , Patton thinks to himself, knowing full well he’s only gotten this far because the magic finds the fairy closest to the Caller and he happened to be at hand. (If all goes well, they won’t even _need_ the Call soon.)

Patton savours their moments together, knowing the hardest part is coming up quickly. He puts it off as long as he can, but the longer he waits, the harder it will be.

> I think you should put out an ad for a roommate

> **Why?**

Logan asks.

Patton winces. He can’t answer that, at least not properly.

> I’m worried that you’re lonely

Logan’s response is heartbreakingly innocent.

> **Why would I be lonely? I have you**

He doesn’t understand. This is _very_ important to Patton’s plan. But Patton leaves it, for now.

> Just think about it, okay?

*

Today’s the day.

Patton can’t put it off any longer.

He’s almost tempted not to go as the Call tugs him toward the house with the blue door. This will be the hardest thing he’s ever done. It’s only the thought of what leaving with no explanation will do to Logan that convinces him to follow.

_One last time._

He takes a deep breath as he alights on the windowsill. Logan isn’t in the living room, which is nothing new. He stopped watching for Patton a long ago. _Because he trusts me to be there for him anyway._

Pushing the bittersweet thought aside, Patton leaves his first message of the day, diminishes the area of the Unseeming, and kicks over the pennies.

Logan enters the second the coins hit the windowsill. He isn’t running exactly, but Patton can read the concern in his step just as clearly as on his face. He picks up the message and reads it in one breath, then sighs with relief.

> **Where were you? Are you alright?**

> I’m fine
> 
> Logan, I have something I need to tell you

> **Go on**

This is it. Patton writes the words slowly and carefully, each letter hurting because it’s a blow to Logan.

> I’m leaving

> **What? Why?**

> I have to. It’s personal.

> **Can you tell me why?**

Logan is clearly trying to maintain a calm, unemotional approach, but there’s pleading in the slight wobbliness of his writing.

> No. Please, Logan, this is hard enough for me.

Understatement of the year.

> **Then I won’t ask. Is there anything I can do to help you?**

> There is one thing

Patton writes, knowing that he has to put his foot down now or never, and never isn’t an option.

> **Name it**

> Promise me you’ll look for a roommate

> **I promise**

Logan sets the paper down, then sits and gazes at the windowsill quietly.

> Goodbye, Logan

“I love you,” Patton whispers. Then, because it feels wrong to leave it at that, he arranges the pennies in a heart.

He leaves as soon as Logan picks up the scrap of bark, knowing if he sees the pain in Logan’s eyes, he won’t leave at all.

*

The ad goes up, and Patton immediately enchants it so only he can see it. It wouldn’t do for someone else to respond, after all. Then, with that under control, he sets about becoming human.

The first problem is identification. Not an immediate problem, but the first thing he’ll need to sort out once he’s able. And the first step to sorting it out is making it easier for himself to pass as an ordinary member of society. Magic will disguise his body, but it won’t change his clothing.

Patton has a stash of human coins; not enough to pay for much, but enough to buy some human clothes from a thrift store in the town of his choice, far away enough that the few times Logan Calls barely reach him.

“I’m from a cosplaying convention,” he explains brightly to the cashier as he pays. The cashier looks at his fae clothing and believes it.

Once he has identification, he’s able to get a paying job. The money accumulates quickly in the bank account he’s set up, since food and shelter aren’t an issue. He does spend some of it on more human clothes. And glasses, because they’re a necessity. The rest he saves for the future, when he'll be paying part of Logan's mortgage, as the ad says.

Money and clothing aren’t the only issues at hand. Patton is extremely tempted to contact Logan right away, but decides against it. There’s always a chance a member of the fae court will notice his “sudden” interest in the human and get suspicious. So he waits.

Finally, after months of preparation, he decides it’s time.

He uses a library computer to send the email saying he’s interested. Then he packs his belongings (the clothing, the messages, and the gifts) and finds a secluded area just outside the town limits to change. He’s done this a lot, but he still feels that thrill of taking human form, and when the spell is complete, he can’t resist examining his reflection in the mirror.

Human Patton has brown hair instead of cerulean, thicker than it is when he’s fae, but no less untameable. His eyes are still brown and amber similar in pattern to coffee before the cream is stirred in, but they’re not quite as big in proportion to the rest of his face, and he has pupils now. The blue has left his skin completely. (He’s still a bit plump, only now it’s by human standards. It can’t be helped, so he resigns himself to it.) Another, less dramatic change, is that while Fae Patton has impeccable vision like all fairies, Human Patton is nearsighted and needs the glasses he’s purchased.

Enough preening. Patton changes into his favourite outfit (polo shirt the same colour as his tunics, khakis, and comfortable sneakers) and goes to hail a taxi.

He spends the ride willing the taxi to go faster. The need to see Logan again, to talk to him, grows with every minute. By the time they get there, he feels like he’s going to burst.

The taxi drives away, leaving Patton standing in front of the house with the blue door. He should go in. Logan will be waiting. But he suddenly feels incredibly nervous. What if Logan doesn’t recognize him? What if he’s too hurt by Patton leaving for so long to listen?

Patton takes a deep breath and walks up the driveway. He’s come too far to be beaten by jitters. He pauses to picture Logan’s smile, then knocks on the door.

It takes a moment, but then the door swings open slowly and Logan is there.

Patton’s heart clenches. Logan looks like he hasn’t slept in a week. His face is pale, with dark smudges under his eyes, and his hair is a mess. He keeps his eyes on the ground, like he can’t bear to see who he’s trying to replace his closest friend with.

Patton clears his throat softly. “Hello, Logan.”

At the sound of his voice, Logan seems to wake up just a little. He lifts his gaze slowly, hesitantly, and meets Patton’s eyes.

The spark of recognition that ignites dispels all of Patton’s fears. In Logan’s eyes, he sees it all. “Logan,” he says, and Logan’s eyes fill with tears. “Oh, you poor thing, you’ve gone through so much.” He cups Logan’s cheek with one hand and wipes away the first tear as it falls.

Logan makes a noise that’s part laugh and part sob, and - Patton doesn’t know who initiates it - they’re hugging each other tightly. He puts all the things he can’t say just yet into the embrace, and feels his own tears start to gather.

After what feels like a long time and no time at all, they pull slightly apart. Logan is still crying a little, so Patton keeps his hands on his arms. “Are you okay?” he asks.

Logan sniffles and smiles at him, eyes bright. “I am now,” he says softly, and leans forward to press a kiss to Patton’s lips. It’s magic of the purest form, but what comes next is so powerful, so true, that Patton doesn’t mourn when it ends.

“Welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> * Please note that Patton believes _unadulterated_ to mean "having not yet gone through the process of adultery", _adultery_ having been defined as "the process of becoming an adult"
> 
> I did some art of fae!Patton awhile back and didn't think to put it on here. It's not _great_ art (still learning proportions and how to draw hair, mdr) but you can find it in [this post](https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Af_3lD_Dh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)


End file.
